This blog is one more tool of Democracy in DiEM25 in the pursuit of a profound democratisation of Diem25. It is open to everyone who is willing to cooperate in the struggle for democracy in Diem25, In Europe and in the world at large.

Pedrojuán gives a short explanation & mentions Judith’s e-mail from yesterday which he posted on Slack (#wg_worldcafe)

> concern: urgency & harshness of the e-mail, maybe we should take out the urgency & put in short explanations about the two e-mails (are the pre-prepared already?) mentioned

> urgency is explained –> tight timeframe

> urgency is taken out already, e-mails not ready yet (first would be a short description of the world café, second ?), they would have to be at least in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish

> proposal: maybe send the e-mail on Monday after the G20

> proposal: use the DSC-list for the trail run (would take out the urgency)

> insertion: objective of the e-mail is make the CC commit & support the initiative

> proposals combined:

put the CC e-mail to the side for now

instead write two e-mails to DSCs: first –> telling them about the café & the expected date for the trial run, letting them know that very soon there will be more information / second –> details about the trial run

inform CC about this e-mails to the DSCs & trial run

trial run

straight after trial (if successful) another e-mail to the CC with the question for their support & the use of the DiEM mailing list to promote the café

> question: what about the language problem of the café, not everybody speaks English? –> we will do it in more than one language & with a specific concern for monolingual participants (explained in detail in the introduction to the café) / the trial will possibly be held in four languages

* Discussion about the reaction from DiD to the announced referendum concerning our “political roadmap”

Lea put this point on the agenda & gives a small explanation

> announced referendum is not the result of a democratic process

> concern is voiced, that we have to be careful to not overstep our own boundaries which are to focus on democratisation in DiEM itself, but it is not directly an internal democratic question

> proposal: open a working group & framapad for this question

> insertion: a new conference setup should be introduced as quickly as possible to enable everybody to join in the debate & create a new way of decision making

> the problem is that without help of the CC & access to the DiEM mailing list we cannot reach all members, so we have to remind them that people are watching them & that DiD is here to be vigilant about the democratic processes in DiEM –> we don’t want to be confrontative but we won’t stop being critical & we will go on proposing solutions (like: “The best way we think how this question should have been put out…”)

> insertion: we have to change our status as the annoying fly

> proposal: our ongoing complaints do not change anything, so maybe we should compile them in a regular (e.g. annual) DiD report & send that to the new CC & the Coordinators mailing list

> insertion: maybe a sort of senate on a platform like Discourse where members can collectively write the agenda

> thought on the regular DiD report: maybe every quarter, not annual / we are at a critical point right now: it seems possible that we end up as a centrally controlled party in a year, & as e.g. Judith oversteps the boundaries of her job again & again we have to be frank about what is going on & we need to make an impression by pointing that out

> agreement on the thought of more than one report per year & on compiling our concerns

> proposal: the current forum board doesn’t work, it’s not transparent, that means it violates our OP, so we should shut it down & open a new one that is in accordance with the OP

> this is commented: an attempt to create a democracy should be possible without high technology, it should be about values, but yes, a quarterly report should include this proposal about new communication tools

> an opinion is voiced that the left debate in Italy has the same problem right now, maybe we should propose a new model of party, to fill the gap between the existing parties

> comment on that: a new party would have to have a democratic structure like The Pirates (fluid democracy)

> democracy is a challenge –> we don’t have the necessary IT mechanisms yet, although there is a lot of work done by theorists, but in order to make that practical people have to be involved / currently for some people in the CC their undemocratic practice works very well in the media but not inside DiEM / so we have to make people aware of the possibilities of democracy / the proposal of the DiD report is maybe the most effective, because it states what is the case & makes people aware of it

> it’s agreed upon that there should be regular reports that state problems in observance of the OPs, but that we have to be very careful about not making mistakes in these reports

> question: frequency of these reports? –> David: every few months, Giovanni: every month, Lea: quarterly sounds good, Pedrojuán: first at the end of October, then every three or four months, Philipp proposes a report when enough issues are compiled (lessens the pressure), first after election & referendum

> agreed upon: Philipp’s proposal with the first report at the end of September

> insertion: cooperation with the 7th pillar?

> question: are there documents about technical solutions that could be read? –> there are & David will post some in the channel democracy_experiments

> Pedrojuan will create a framapad for compiling the first report

* Discussion about the CCs decision for the CC members to “step down” (but being available for re-election)

> question: is there any opposition to the proposed structure? –> no comment on that, so it will go through like that

* Volunteer to maintain the DiD member list (2 if possible – Lea: I think I could do that!)

Pedrojuan explains that he & Wessel did it since the beginning & ask now for help & a volunteer

> Lea & Philipp volunteer

> Pedrojuán will send an e-mail to Lea & Philipp with instructions

Any other business?

> David proposes a short trial of myturn.mobi over our smart phones –> we do, but cut it short (Pedrojuán: try it some other time? maybe for a meeting? using it for local meetings? what are David’s experiences with it? –> David: tried it, but not routinely, thinks that it has a few bugs still)

End of the meeting

Next meeting: MONDAY, 17.7., 7pm, Wessel has to be remembered to call for the meeting